You want sexy. That’s understood. Who can blame you? Sexy is stimulating. Sexy sells. Sexy is thrilling.
But sensible — not sexy — is the route the Jets must take when they arrive at the 20th pick of the NFL draft Thursday night.

Boring? Too bad. The Jets need to build from the foundation up, not by reaching for the player most popular at the podium based on the positive fan reaction the moment he’s picked.

Jets fans, once and for all, want a quarterback. That’s understood. With apologies to Chad Pennington and Ken O’Brien before him, the franchise has been as quarterback-poor as any in the NFL since Joe Namath last hung up his knee brace. The Jets have drafted 10 quarterbacks since 2000 — more than even the Cleveland Browns.

The whole of the football world knows Cal quarterback Jared Goff and North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz will be selected with the first two picks in the draft, which is far ahead of where the Jets will get their first-round crack.

Paxton Lynch could be available at No. 20.Getty Images

Memphis’ Paxton Lynch — based on the annual overanalysis that takes place in the days, hours and minutes that lead up to the first team being on the clock — is rated as the third-best quarterback in his crop. Of course, he has been linked to the Jets, because whenever there’s a conversation about an available quarterback the Jets are automatically linked to him.

Many of the latest mock drafts trending on social media have the Jets taking Lynch.

This is not meant to be any sort of attack against Lynch, who at 6-foot-7 and with a cannon for an arm, is an enticing physical specimen. But he’s an impressive physical specimen who’s a project, having played his entire career in an offensive system that does not include a huddle or taking snaps from under center — a couple of things paramount to being a successful NFL quarterback.

And, by the way, the Jets already have a project quarterback on their roster who entered the league without any collegiate experience under center in Bryce Petty.

The Jets, as needy for a franchise quarterback as they are, do not have the luxury to take a project like Lynch in this first round. They need to find an immediate starter, either on their aging offensive line or on defense, where their linebacking corps and edge pass rushing are among the weakest in the league.

Depending on who’s available at No. 20, that means one of the second-tier tackles — Michigan State’s Jack Conklin, Ohio State’s Taylor Decker or Texas A&M’s Germain Ifedi. Or one of the top linebackers — Georgia’s Leonard Floyd, Eastern Kentucky’s Noah Spence, Alabama’s Reggie Ragland or Ohio State’s Darron Lee. Or a pass-rushing defensive end like Clemson’s Kevin Dodd or even his teammate Shaq Lawson should he fall to 20, which is unlikely.

Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan came here with a plan of patience. He was honest from the start with owner Woody Johnson about the need to rebuild at critical positions that had deteriorated as a result of poor drafts and personnel decisions by the previous regimes.

The Jets just watched their starting left tackle of the last 10 years, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, retire after never having missed a start or a practice since the day he was drafted.

This is the kind of player Maccagnan needs to pick Thursday night: Someone like Ferguson, who can help right away and who will be productive for five, six, seven years or more.

This is the way Maccagnan plans to rebuild the flimsy structure the team’s roster had represented upon his arrival — methodically.

So, unless Maccagnan and his football people are as convinced Lynch will become their future as the team’s fan base is in its belief Geno Smith is not, picking Lynch at No. 20 goes against everything we believe him to be about.

“The draft, in our minds, is always an opportunity to bring as much talent into the organization as you can,’’ Maccagnan said. “Long-term sustainability, that’s the key to every NFL team — to try to build through the draft.’’

The Jets will be best built through sensibility, not by making the sexy selection that elicits the instant-gratification buzz from their fans on draft night.